A military spokeswoman said
no one was hurt when marines boarded the Estelle, which was rerouted to Israel's southern
Mediterranean port of Ashdod.

A campaigner said the boat had "come under attack" after being pursued by
Israeli naval vessels.

Activists said they lost contact with the Swedish-owned, Finnish-flagged boat
early on Saturday.

"The Estelle is now under
attack. I have just had a message from them by phone. Some time ago, they said
that they had military ships following them," Victoria Strand, a Stockholm-based
spokeswoman for the Ship to Gaza Sweden campaign, told Agence
France Presse (AFP).

She added that it was unclear what the activists onboard meant when they said
they had been attacked.

The Estelle is carrying 30
activists from Europe, Canada and
Israel, humanitarian cargo such as cement, and goodwill items such as children's
books......"